Planning and Approval

Procedures for the planning and approval of new academic courses and programs are governed by Board of Regents, University of Hawai'i, and University of Hawai'i at Mānoa policies. Appropriate policies, procedures, guidelines, and forms may be downloaded by clicking on the links on the left.

Academic Minors

The minor in an academic subject is awarded for coursework completed in or coordinated by a single academic department. Academic minors exist only in conjunction with academic majors; they do not stand alone. The minor represents specialization in a second discipline, exclusive of, and more limited in extent than, the major. An academic minor may be established only in a Board-authorized baccalaureate degree program (as identified in the "Master List of Curricula Offered") and is noted on the student permanent record/transcript. The minor is a credential restricted to undergraduates.

Academic minors recognize successful completion of approved coursework which reflects, at a minimum, 15 credits of non-introductory classes with a grade of C or better. The classes will constitute an academically defensible, focused aspect of the degree program from which they are drawn.

The procedures for the development and approval of an academic minor are as follows. The proposal is initiated by the department and, upon approval by the department chairperson, is forwarded to the appropriate dean. If the proposal is approved after the usual faculty and decanal review process within the college or school, it is transmitted by the dean to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for approval.

Records of work in progress and of completion of minors are maintained in the relevant departmental and college/school offices. The Office of Admissions and Records compiles periodic summaries of total number of minors awarded. The master of list of available minors is maintained by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Academic Subject Certificate Programs

An academic subject certificate program is a designated set of courses that does not lead to a degree, but complements an existing degree program by enhancing the development of skills and knowledge in a focused area of study, or provides an alternative to a degree program in the form of intensive professional training or personal enrichment in a focused area of study. Certificate programs are classified as either graduate or undergraduate certificates. They are generally narrower in scope than degrees, and the courses, together with other forms of credited educational experience, are specifically structured to form a coherent specialization. They may be offered as a field of specialization within an existing degree program; as an interdisciplinary field that combines courses from two or more degree programs; or as an area of professional and practical forms of specialist knowledge and skills.

UH Executive Policy E5.205 grants the Mānoa Chancellor the authority to approve certificate programs in specific subjects that represent recognition of work taken within (or among) existing Board authorized programs. Certificate programs that require the commitment of new resources by the University require Board of Regents approval and must follow the procedures for new academic degree programs.

The approval process and guidelines for academic subject certificates is described in " Academic Subject Certificate Programs, Procedures and Guidelines". Certificates that are not approved according to these guidelines are not official credentials of UH Mānoa and will not appear on University of Hawai'i transcripts.

Course Approval & Deletion

Requests to add new courses, modify existing courses, or delete existing courses are transmitted by using the UHM-1 (add) or UHM-2 (modify or delete) forms. The course approval process at Mānoa includes the following:

  • Departmental review which assures course coherence, pedagogy, content, learning outcomes, and quality.
  • Review and approval by appropriate unit's program and curriculum committee and dean.
  • Review and approval by the Graduate Division (for graduate courses only).
  • Review and approval by the General Education Committee or Foundations Board for courses seeking Diversification, Foundations, and/or Hawaiian/Second Language designations.
  • Review and approval by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Please refer to the "Guidelines for Submitting UHM-1 & UHM-2 forms" for more information.

"Guidelines for Course Proposals Submitted to the Graduate Division" should be followed for graduate level courses.

The General Education webpage should be consulted for further information regarding Diversification, Foundations, Hawaiian/Second Language, and Focus courses.

Deadlines: Check with each individual College/School academic services office and other appropriate offices regarding their deadlines as each may have its own. Some offices require UHM forms to be submitted as early as one year prior to when the course is to be offered.

UHM forms must be received by OVCAA with all required signatures (except VCAA's) no later than:

  • December 15 for the next Summer and Fall term
  • May 15 for the next Spring term

Note: If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, forms are due by the last working day before the weekend or holiday.

All forms are subject to the same deadlines, regardless of the status of the requested course (regular, experimental, single-term offering).

New Degree Programs

University of Hawai'i Executive Policy E5.201, "Approval of New Academic Programs and Review of Provisional Academic Programs," governs the approval process for new academic programs. The process begins with the submittal and approval of an "Authorization to Plan (ATP)." An ATP is a request to plan a new academic program, made at the beginning of the formal planning process, before resources are committed to program planning.

Upon approval of the ATP, programs have one year to prepare and submit a formal proposal for the approval of the new academic program. Proposals must follow guidelines provided in Appendix B of E5.201. The review process for new Mānoa programs includes the following steps:

  • Departmental review which assures program coherence, pedagogy, content, learning outcomes, faculty support, and quality of delivery.
  • Review by appropriate unit's program and curriculum committee and dean.
  • Review by the Graduate Division (for graduate programs only).
  • Review by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA). The OVCAA coordinates the final review process. Prior to recommending approval to the Chancellor and the Board of Regents, the OVCAA will transmit the proposal for review to the Mānoa Faculty Senate, to the Assessment Office, and for consultation, to the UH System’s Council of Chief Academic Officers (CCAO). Proposals for undergraduate degree programs must include a sample 4-year curriculum plan. This plan will be reviewed by academic advisors in Arts and Sciences. After successful review by the OVCAA (which includes review of 4-year curriculum and assessment plans), the Graduate Division (as appropriate), the Mānoa Faculty Senate, and CCAO (for consultation), new program proposals are submitted to the Chancellor and to the Board of Regents for approval.

Proposals for new programs, at least 50% of which will be delivered via distance technologies or off-campus, must also undergo review according to the "Process of Institutional Review for Substantive Change-Distance Delivered Program, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa."

Policies

Procedures

Forms/Miscellaneous Downloads